LAHAINA, Hawaii, July 31 (Reuters) – Talks on a Pacific Rim
free-trade pact are unlikely to end in a final deal, sources
involved in the talks said on Friday, with a dispute between
Japan and the United States over autos, New Zealand digging in
over trade in dairy products and no agreement on monopoly
periods for next-generation drugs.

Trade ministers from the 12 nations negotiating the
Trans-Pacific Partnership, which would stretch from Japan to
Chile and cover 40 percent of the world economy, delayed until 4
p.m. local time (10 p.m. ET/0200 GMT) a news conference
originally scheduled for 1:30 p.m. on the Hawaiian island of
Maui.

LAHAINA, Hawaii (Reuters) – Talks on a Pacific Rim free-trade pact faced a fast-approaching deadline on Friday as trading partners aimed to wrap up a deal within hours, with New Zealand digging in over trade in dairy products and ministers tussling over monopoly periods for next-generation drugs.

Trade ministers from the 12 nations negotiating the Trans-Pacific Partnership, which would stretch from Japan to Chile and cover 40 percent of the world economy, delayed until 4 p.m. local time (10 p.m. ET) a news conference originally scheduled for 1:30 p.m. on the Hawaiian island of Maui.

LAHAINA, Hawaii (Reuters) – Japan and the United States have been at odds over many things during Pacific free trade talks but they are united in concern over the deal’s potential impact on their domestic sugar producers.

The 12-nation Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) may allow more sugar imports into the United States and Japan. That has brought warnings from U.S. growers about economic devastation and some in Japan go so far as to see a threat to national security.

LAHAINA, Hawaii (Reuters) – Pacific Rim trade ministers neared the final spurt of negotiations on an ambitious free trade pact on Thursday, but differences over farm exports and monopoly periods for next-generation drugs were preventing them from reaching an elusive final deal.

Ministers from the 12 countries negotiating the Trans-Pacific Partnership, which would cut trade barriers and set common standards for 40 percent of the world economy, are meeting in Hawaii to try to hammer out a deal.

Speaking on the sidelines of a meeting in Hawaii where ministers are negotiating a 12-nation trade deal, Robb said member countries of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TTP) were considering a U.S. proposal for a separate forum.

LAHAINA, Hawaii (Reuters) – The United States, Canada and Japan have to make concessions on dairy trade before a wider Pacific trade deal can be wrapped up, New Zealand’s agricultural trade envoy said on Tuesday.

Mike Petersen, a farmer who represents the interests of New Zealand agriculture, said the dairy part of the Trans-Pacific Partnership negotiations was at an impasse.

LAHAINA, Hawaii, July 28 (Reuters) – The United States,
Canada and Japan have to make concessions on dairy trade before
a wider Pacific trade deal can be wrapped up, New Zealand’s
agricultural trade envoy said on Tuesday.

Mike Petersen, a farmer who represents the interests of New
Zealand agriculture, said the dairy part of the Trans-Pacific
Partnership negotiations was at an impasse. Ministers aim to
finish the trade negotiations this week in Hawaii.

LAHAINA, Hawaii (Reuters) – Ministers from Pacific Rim nations hoping to finalize an ambitious free trade deal this week warned on Monday that hurdles remained including intellectual property and dairy.

The United States and Japan, the two biggest economies in the talks, are both keen for strong intellectual property protections, such as long copyright periods and data protection for next-generation drugs.

GENEVA/WASHINGTON (Reuters) – World Trade Organization (WTO) members met in Geneva on Friday trying to finalise a deal to cut tariffs on $1 trillion of information technology products from video games to medical equipment.

The United States said a deal had been struck, but WTO Director General Roberto Azevedo postponed a press conference at which he and the talks’ chairman, European Union Ambassador Angelos Pangratis, had been due to announce the agreement.

About Krista

"I write about trade from Washington DC, where I moved in August 2013. IN nine years with Reuters, I have written about the Latin American economy from Mexico City and European Central Bank from Frankfurt. In a previous life, I worked in Australia and covered the economy and national politics for local news agency AAP."